Other attendants included Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.

"Meaningful progress toward reducing and preventing gun violence cannot be made by just one branch of government," Thompson said. "Our task force looks forward to working with the vice president, the Obama administration and all stakeholders to enact a comprehensive set of proposals that both respects the Second Amendment right of law abiding citizens without a history of dangerous mental illness, and helps keep our schools, streets and communities safe from gun violence."

Throughout the next several weeks, the task force will hold a number of meetings and hearings with different experts designed to identify the best policies to reduce and prevent gun violence.

A comprehensive set of policy proposals will be released by the task force in early February.